All Orthodox Jewish, conservative and evangelic Christian, and Islamic brides-to-be--this is for you! It never occurred to me how difficult it might be for you to find a modest wedding gown for your ceremony in your church, synagogue or mosque until I found this story in the pressofatlanticcity.com. An Englewood, NJ woman has designed a line of gowns for brides who want modest, yet glamorous, dresses. She "knows there's a niche there," and she's going after it.

Who Knew?

I've been researching and writing for the wedding industry for quite a while now, and I could have sworn there were plenty of "demure" wedding dresses out there for women who don't want to be "fully exposed." So I did what I thought would be a brief Internet search to find dozens of wedding gowns with higher necklines, long sleeves and covered backs. Brief turned into more than half an hour, and even a Web site called totallymodest.com only had one or two dresses with long sleeves. David's Bridal has hundreds of gowns, and I found maybe two or three max there that could be considered modest or demure. Almost every dress was either strapless, bare-backed, sleeveless or revealed some serious cleavage. Don't get me wrong--they're gorgeous gowns and mainstream brides have endless options. But I admit I was quite surprised at the dearth of demure wedding gowns.

The Growing Trend

Apparently, there's a growing demand for modest versions of bridal gowns, but the industry as a whole hasn't noticed. Up until now, many religious brides-to-be have found it necessary to make serious alterations to existing gowns (higher necklines, longer sleeves) to get what they want. One national wedding gown chain even retains matching fabrics and seamstresses at their stores for exactly this purpose. So go for it, Tova Marc of Couture de Bride in Teaneck, NJ! You've definitely found your niche. It will be interesting to see if and when other designers follow suit.

MyWeddingFavors.com has long recognized that there's a large segment of brides-to-be whose traditional and religious values influence their wedding planning decisions. That's why they have a wide selection of elegant, traditional and even faith-based wedding favors. The "Timeless Traditions" Glass Photo Frame/Place Card Holder Coasters (left) look lovely on almost any traditional wedding reception table. A truly popular faith-based favor is the "Blessings" Silver Cross Bookmark in a Keepsake Book Box. In fact, it may be easier for you to find your ideal wedding favors than your dream wedding gown--at least for now.

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